Modern History Notes : Chapter-34 : Governors-General / Viceroy of India (Arora IAS Class Notes)

Chapter-34

Governors-General / Viceroy of India

Arora IAS Class Notes

East India Company Administration

• Established a hierarchy with the Governor of Bengal at the top.

Robert Clive (1757-60 & 1765-67)

• Became Governor after Plassey victory (1757).
• Reappointed after Buxar (1765).
• Introduced the Dual Government (until 1772).
• Considered a founder of British power in India (with Warren Hastings).
• Faced criticism for policies linked to the Bengal Famine.

Other Governors

• John Zephaniah Holwell (temporary, 1760) – survived Black Hole of Calcutta.
• Henry Vanisttart (1760-65) – Governor during Battle of Buxar.
• Harry Verelst (1767-69) – oversaw Bengal under Dual Government.
• John Cartier (1769-72) – Bengal Famine of 1770 occurred during his tenure.
• Warren Hastings (1772-73) – Succeeded Cartier, abolished Dual Government.

 

Warren Hastings (1773-1784)

• First Governor-General of India (1773-1784).
• Faced impeachment for corruption but later acquitted (1795).
• Implemented various reforms:
  • Abolished Dual System of Government (established by Robert Clive) in Bengal.
  • Established a Board of Revenue in Calcutta to oversee revenue collection.
  • Shifted the capital from Murshidabad to Calcutta.
  • Appointed English collectors in each district.
  • Introduced a judicial system with Civil Courts and Faujdari Adalats.
  • Founded the Asiatic Society of Bengal (1784).
• Strengthened British power through treaties like Treaty of Banaras (1773) and Treaty of Faizabad (1775).

Lord Cornwallis (1786-1793)

• Implemented the Permanent Settlement (1793):
  • Fixed the government’s share of land revenue collected by zamindars.
  • Recognized zamindars as permanent landowners.
• Separated revenue administration from justice (Cornwallis Code).
• Introduced the post of District Judge.
• Considered the “father of civil service in India” for establishing civil service administration.

Sir John Shore (1793-1798)

• Charter Act of 1793 passed during his tenure.
• Period marked by cautious policies.
• Battle of Kharda (1795) occurred between the Nizam and Marathas.

Lord Wellesley (1798-1805)

• Implemented the Subsidiary Alliance to establish British control in India.
  • Restricted princely rulers from independent diplomacy or maintaining large armies.
  • Stationed British residents at princely courts.
• Established the Board of Trade.
• Introduced press control regulations.
• Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799) resulted in Tipu Sultan’s defeat and Mysore’s annexation.
• Madras Presidency established during his rule.
• Founded Fort William College for language studies.

British Governors-General of India

George Barlow (1805-1807)

• Vellore Mutiny of sepoys occurred in 1806 (uniform and haircut grievances).
• Suppressed by the then Madras Governor, William Bentinck.

Lord Minto I (1807-1813)

• Signed the Treaty of Amritsar (1809) with Ranjit Singh.
• Charter Act of 1813 passed during his tenure.

Lord Hastings (1813-1823)

• Nepalese War (1814-1816): Gorkhas accepted the Treaty of Sagauli (1816).
• Pindari War (1817-1818): Pindari suppression.
• Third Maratha War (1817-1818): End of Maratha power.
• Bombay Presidency established in 1818 (from Maratha regions).
• Ryotwari settlement introduced by Governor Thomas Munro (Madras, 1820).
• Bengal Tenancy Act passed in 1822.
• Coffee plantations initiated in Bengal and Assam.

Lord Amherst (1823-1828)

• First Burmese War (1824-26).
• Barrackpore Mutiny (1824).
• Malay Peninsula became part of British territories.
• Captured Bharatpur territories (1826).

Lord William Bentinck (1828-1835) – Considered Father of Modern Western Education in India

• Last Governor-General of Bengal (1828-1833).
• First Governor-General of India (1833-1835).
• Abolition of Sati and other cruel rites (1829).
• Suppression of Thuggee (1830).
• Macaulay Minute (1835): English as the official language.
• Judicial reforms: abolished provincial courts, separate Sadr courts in Allahabad and Delhi.
• Allowed use of vernacular languages in courts.
• Increased opportunities for Indians in judicial roles.
• Non-interference policy with Indian states (exceptions: Mysore, Coorg, Central Cachar).
• Charter Act of 1833: No discrimination in recruitment based on religion etc.

Sir Charles Metcalfe (1834-1836)

• Famous for liberating the press (Press Law).

Lord Auckland (1836-1842)

• First Afghan War (1839-1842): British defeat.
• Tripartite Treaty with Shah Shuja, Ranjit Singh (1838) for Afghanistan.
• Construction of Delhi-Calcutta road began (1839).
• Grand Trunk Road established (formerly Sher Shah Suri Marg).

Lord Ellenborough (1842-1844)

• Concluded Afghan War.
• Annexation of Sind (1843) under Charles Napier.
• Indian Slavery Act of 1843 abolished slavery.

Lord Hardinge I (1844-1848)

• Anglo-Sikh War (1845-1846): Battles and Treaty of Lahore (1846).
• Measures to eliminate female infanticide and human sacrifice.

Lord Dalhousie (1848-1856)

• Significant expansion through warfare and Doctrine of Lapse.
• Second Anglo-Sikh War (1849): Annexation of Punjab.
• Second Anglo-Burmese War (1852-53): Lower Burma annexed.
• Sikkim annexed (1850).
• Doctrine of Lapse: Satara, Jaitpur, Sambalpur, Baghat, Jhansi, Udaipur, Nagpur annexed.
• Awadh annexed (1856) for alleged misgovernance.

Dalhousie’s Reforms

• Appointed Lieutenant-Governor for Bengal.
• Centralized control of newly annexed territories.
• Raised the Gurkha regiment.
• Advocated reducing Indians in the British army.
• Thomsonian System of Vernacular education (North-Western Provinces, 1853).
• Wood’s Education Despatch (1854): Anglo-Vernacular Schools and Government Colleges.
• Public works initiatives: First railway line (Bombay-Thane, 1853).
• Father of the Indian Telegraph System.
• Contributed to Grand Trunk Road, development of harbors in Karachi, Bombay, Calcutta.

Lord Canning (1856-1862) – Last Governor-General, First Viceroy

• Witness to significant developments:
  • Widow Remarriage Act (1856)
  • Revolt of 1857
  • End of Doctrine of Lapse
  • Indian Councils Act (1861) – End of East India Company rule
  • Universities of Calcutta, Bombay, Madras established (1857)
  • Indigo riots in Bengal (1860)

Lord Elgin I (1862-1863)

• Suppressed the Wahabi Movement.

Sir John Lawrence (1864-1869)

• Policy of Non-Intervention in Afghanistan.
• Famine in Odisha, Bundelkhand, Rajputana (Famine Commission established).
• Telegraphic communication with Europe initiated.
• High courts established at Calcutta, Bombay, Madras (1865).
• Reorganized native judicial service.
• Expanded canal works and railways.
• Bhutan War (1865).
• Established the Indian Forests Department.

Lord Mayo (1869-1872)

• Introduced the state railways system.
• Established colleges for Indian Princes (Rajkot College, Mayo College).
• Organized Statistical Survey of India, conducted first Census of India (1872).
• Established Department of Agriculture and Commerce.
• Initiated financial decentralization.
• Assassinated in 1872 (only Viceroy to be murdered).

Lord Northbrook (1872-1876)

• Kuka Movement in Punjab (1872).
• Visit of Prince of Wales (1875).

Lord Lytton (1876-1880)

• Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880).
• Established Famine Fund in each province.
• Delhi Durbar (1877) – Queen Victoria titled Kaiser-e-Hind.
• Vernacular Press Act (1878) – banned Indian language newspapers.
• Criticized for free trade policies.

Lord Ripon (1880-1884) – Father of Local Self-Government in India

• Repealed Vernacular Press Act (1882).
• Introduced First Factory Act (1881) to improve worker conditions.
• Regular census-taking began (1881).
• Initiated Local Self-Government (1882).
• Established Hunter Commission (1882) for primary education.
• Resigned due to Ilbert Bill Controversy (1883).

Lord Dufferin (1884-1888)

• Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885-1888) – annexation of Lower and Upper Burma.
• Tenancy Act passed in Bengal (1885).
• Indian National Congress founded (1885).
• Allahabad University established (1887).

Lord Lansdowne (1888-1894)

• Second Factory Act passed (1891).
• Indian Council Act of 1892 enacted.
• Durand Line established (India-Afghanistan boundary).

Lord Elgin II (1894-1899)

• Famine in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab (1896-1898).
• Famine Commission appointed (1898).
• Opium Commission formed (1893).
• Munda Uprising (1899).
• Chapekar Brothers assassinated British officials (1897).

Lord Curzon (1899-1905)

• Significant initiatives:
  • Partition of Bengal (planned during his tenure).
  • Foreign Policy: United North-West Frontier, interfered in Tibet.
  • Education: Established Indian University Commission (1902), Indian Universities Act (1904).
  • Police Reform: Police Commission (1902), CID established (1903).
  • Famine Commission established.
  • Agriculture: Established Agricultural Research Institute (Pusa).
  • Irrigation Commission established (1901).

Lord Minto II (1905-1910)

• Anti-partition and Swadeshi Movement against Bengal partition.
• Muslim League founded by Aga Khan (1906).
• Congress’s goal of Swaraj declared (Calcutta Session, 1906).
• Congress split during the annual session in Surat (1907).
• Indian Council Act of 1909 (Morley-Minto Reforms) introduced separate electorates.

Lord Hardinge II (1910-1916)

• Delhi Durbar (1911): King George V and Queen Mary’s coronation and announcement of Bengal partition cancellation.
• Transfer of capital from Calcutta to Delhi declared (1911).
• Survived a bomb attack in Delhi (1912).
• World War I commenced (1914-18).
• Banaras Hindu University established (1916).

Lord Chelmsford (1916-1921)

• Home Rule League formed (1916).
• Women’s University established in Poona.
• Lucknow Pact signed between Congress and Muslim League (1916).
• Sadler Commission on Education appointed (1917).
• Rowlatt Act passed (1919) leading to Jallianwala Bagh massacre (1919).
• Government of India Act (1919) enacted.
• Khilafat Movement, Non-cooperation Movement (1920-1922), Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919) occurred.

Lord Reading (1921-1926) – only Jewish Viceroy

• Acworth Committee (1921) recommended separation of Railway budget.
• Moplah Rebellion in Kerala (1921).
• Swaraj Party founded (1922).
• Non-Cooperation Movement called off after Chauri-Chaura incident.
• Civil Services exams conducted simultaneously in Delhi and London from 1923.
• Lee Commission for the Public Service established (1924).
• Kakori Incident (1925).

Lord Irwin (1926-1931)

• Arrival of the Simon Commission.
• Nehru Report published (1928) under Motilal Nehru.
• Jinnah’s response with 14 points.
• Royal Commission on Agriculture appointed (1928).
• Declaration of Purna Swaraj (Lahore Session, 1929).
• Independence Day celebrated nationwide (January 26, 1930).
• Civil Disobedience Movement launched by Gandhi (1930) including the Dandi March.
• First Round Table Conference in London (1930).
• Gandhi-Irwin Pact (March 1931).

Lord Willingdon (1931-1936)

• Second Round Table Conference in London (1931).
• Ramsay MacDonald announced the Communal Award (1932).
• Individual Civil Disobedience Movements launched.
• Third Round Table Conference (1935).
• Government of India Act passed (1935).
• India separated from Burma (1935).
• All-India Kisan Sabha established (1936).

Lord Linlithgow (1936-1944)

• First general elections with Congress winning absolute majority in most provinces (1937).
• Congress Ministries resigned (1939) with World War II outbreak.
• Subhas Chandra Bose elected Congress President (1938) and formed Forward Bloc (1939).
• August Offer by the Viceroy rejected by Congress (1940).
• Cripps Mission (1942).

Lord Wavell (1944-1947)

• CR Formula by C Rajagopalachari (1944) led to Gandhi-Jinnah talks.
• Cabinet Mission led by Pethick Lawrence arrived in Delhi (1946).
• Direct Action Day by Muslim League (August 1946).
• Clement Attlee announced the end of British rule in India (February 1947).

Lord Mountbatten (1947-1948)

• Announced Mountbatten Plan (June 1947).
• Indian Independence Bill introduced (July 1947).
• India and Pakistan granted independence (August 1947).
• Became first Governor-General of independent India.

C Rajagopalachari (1948-1950)

• Last Governor-General of India.
• Indian Constitution adopted (November 1949) and enacted (January 1950).